Round and Round the Table Trivia Quiz

Answer: Alexander Woollcott

Alexander Woollcott, then the outspoken drama critic of the New York Times, had gathered at the Algonquin, by chance, with a group of fellow writers whose intention it was to roast him. They had such a jolly time that everyone vowed to return the next day and every day after that for more than 10 years.

Woollcott is supposedly the inspiration for Sheridan Whiteside, the leading character in 'The Man Who Came to Dinner'. The Brandy Alexander is also supposed to have been named after him. He is also the originator of the quote "Everything I really like to do, is illegal, immoral or fattening".

A viciously amusing man that savaged the Broadway theater for sport, he always gave true talent it's due.

"At 83, George Bernard Shaw's mind was perhaps not quite as good as it used to be, but it was still better than anyone else's."

Answer: The New Yorker Magazine

Although not an especially cultured man himself, he was a meticulous editor with an innate sense of what felt right in a piece. James Thurber said of him "He had a sound sense, a unique almost intuitive perception of what was wrong with something, incomplete or out of balance, understated or over-emphasized." He also described Ross's mind as being "uncluttered with culture".

Ross created a forum for some of the best writers and satirical cartoonists of the day, a tradition that has been carried into the 21st Century.

Answer: Vanity Fair

Dorothy Parker was the drama critic at "Vanity Fair". She was fired for blasting the talent of Billie Burke, the actress wife of famous Broadway producer Florence Ziegfield. Dorothy Parker lampooned Ms Burke's overacting and compared her unfavorably with Eva Tanguay, a bawdy burlesque star of the time.

Answer: No

Robert Benchley was a good friend to Dorothy Parker, but he appeared happily married with a child. He was often found supporting her literally and figuratively through many of her drunken and suicidal episodes.

"He (Robert Benchley) and I had an office so tiny that an inch smaller and it would have been adultery. "

On a rainy day Benchley is reported as saying "I've got to get out of these wet clothes and into a dry martini." He was one of the stalwarts of the Round Table crew, and gained some success as a writer. This seemed to surprise him.

"It took me fifteen years to discover I had no talent for writing, but I couldn't give it up because by that time I was too famous".

Answer: The Road to Rome

Robert Sherwood had the finest of satirical trainings. He attended Harvard College, where he father had started the magazine "Lampoon". He was also an avid member of the 'Hasty Pudding Club', an early hotbed of American satire. He befriended Robert Benchley and Dorothy Parker at "Vanity Fair", and they were ever present in the Circle. They never called each other by their first names, but by Mr. Sherwood, Mrs Parker and Mr. Benchley.

Sherwood in a review of the cowboy Tom Mix apparently wrote - "They say he rides as if he is part of the horse, but they don't say which part".

Robert Sherwood won four Pulitzer Prizes for his extensive writings, and went on to become a speechwriter for FDR.

Answer: Tallulah Bankhead

Tallulah Bankhead spoke with a languid Southern accent and drank bourbon like water. She was most welcome at the Round Table, and was infamous for many of her quips.

"I read Shakespeare and the Bible, and I can shoot dice. That's what I call a liberal education".

"Cocaine isn't habit forming. I should know - I've been using it for years."

"I've been called many things, but never an intellectual."

Although she had success in the theater, radio and television, it was her personal life that captivated and appalled people. Her hundreds of lovers of both sexes, and her bottomless pit for bourbon, drugs and cigarettes kept people interested.

"Codeine...bourbon..." were supposedly her last words.

Answer: Dogs

Thurber regarded dogs almost reverentially, depicting them again and again as infinitely wiser than humans.

"It did not take Man long - probably not more than a hundred centuries - to discover that all the animals except the dog were impossible around the house. One has but to spend a few days with an aardvark or llama, command a water buffalo to sit up and beg or try to housebreak a moose, to perceive how wisely Man set about his process of elimination and selection."

"The dog has got more fun out of Man than Man has got out of the dog, for the clearly demonstrable reason that Man is the more laughable of the two animals.'

Answer: So Big

Edna Ferber had a love/hate relationship with the denizens of the Round Table. She successfully collaborated on a number of shows with George S. Kaufman, Jerome Kern and Harold Arlen to name but a few. She was successful in almost every endeavor that she attempted, but never found time to marry or have children.

"Life can't defeat a writer who is in love with writing, for life itself is a writer's lover until death."

"Being an old maid is like death by drowning, a really delightful sensation after you cease to struggle."

Answer: Moss Hart

Kaufman and Hart had a very successful working relationship for many years both on Broadway and in Hollywood. Kaufman was considered one of the funniest men of his age, particularly with zingy one-liners. For example:

"I understand your new play is full of single entendres."

"Epitaph for a dead waiter - God finally caught his eye."

Answer: She was blacklisted for communist activities.

One could almost say all of these. In the latter part of her life she became very much involved in politics, in particular the Civil Rights Movement. However, her membership in the Communist Party made her unwelcome as a writer and no-one dared hire her. She had finally become 'underwhelming' herself.

'This would be a good thing for them to carve on my tombstone: "Wherever she went, including here, it was against her better judgment."'